(CNN)The ferocious Blanco River surged into the Perez family's vacation home, blowing the door off its frame.

"Oh no!" Sarah Perez cried from the second floor.

The torrent of brown water filled the Texas house, creating a whirlpool of chairs and tables.

"It turned the living room into a gigantic washing machine," Ernie Perez said.

His wife wondered aloud whether she should call 911.

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"911 is not going to be able to get to us," he replied.

The Blanco River gushed into Sarah and Ernie Perez's vacation home in Wimberley, Texas.

Fortunately for the Perez family, firefighters were already in that part of Wimberley, Texas, to check on an elderly neighbor.

"We see flashing lights in the distance. We saw a fire crew with two trucks and a boat," Ernie Perez said. "My brother whistles and gets their attention."

The rescue Saturday night was like a movie, he said, with boats, lines and emergency workers ferrying his family into the dark.

The Perez family managed to survive, but many did not.

At least 37 people have died in the severe weather over the past five days, from either tornadoes or flooding brought on by epic rainfall. Those deaths include 17 in Texas, 14 in northern Mexico and six in Oklahoma.

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What's worse: Areas farther north, including Dallas, could get another 2 to 4 inches of rain through Sunday, and parts of eastern Oklahoma will get deluged with 4 to 6 inches of rain. That means runoff could rush downstream to Houston, inundating parts of the city once again.

Southwest of Houston, officials in Wharton, Texas, called for a voluntary evacuation on the western side of the city Wednesday as forecasters warned that the Colorado River was likely to rise above flood stage by Thursday.

Many homes on Wharton's west side are already flooded with up to 3 feet of water, the National Weather Service said.

In Parker County, west of Fort Worth, authorities issued a voluntary evacuation order for 250 homes along the Brazos River, which is expected to crest 3 feet above flood stage in the coming days.

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Saundra Brown recalled her daughter waking her early Sunday with news that "the bayou was rising."

As the family rolled up their rug, someone knocked on the door asking for shelter after getting stranded in a vehicle. Soon, it became apparent nobody was going anywhere.

"We just told everybody, 'Get on the couches,' " Brown said. "Then we put the family on the dining room table. (We moved to) the counters next. And if it was going to rise more, we'd go on the roof."

Six hours later, it was finally safe to get their feet back on the soaked ground. The days since have been spent bunking with friends and cleaning up.

"It wasn't fun," Brown said. "We're lucky to have a big support structure."

Photos:Texas flooding

People canoe through floodwaters in Houston on Saturday, May 30. Torrential rains have given Texas the wettest month on record, according to Texas A&M climatologists. In all, 37.3 trillion gallons of water have fallen over the state in May, the National Weather Service said.

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Floodwaters surround a house near the San Jacinto River in Kingwood on May 30.

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A truck is partially submerged in floodwaters near Houston's Bear Creek Park on May 30.

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The Trinity River swells west of downtown Dallas on Friday, May 29.

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Lake Lewisville floods a park in The Colony on May 29.

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From left, Cara Hewitt, Linda Balas, Kathy Bullard and Doreen Crow gather in Wimberley on Thursday, May 28. They are looking at the spot where eight friends from Corpus Christi were swept away in a flood.

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Butch Neuenschwander, right, looks for things to salvage from his RV, which was flooded in San Marcos, Texas, on Wednesday, May 27.

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Workers in Midlothian, Texas, try to relieve pressure from the dam at Padera Lake on May 27.

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On Tuesday, May 26, a Wimberley man walks past a cabin that was torn from its foundation days earlier.

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Roberto Salas, left, and Lewis Sternhagen check on a flooded car in Houston on May 26.

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Members of the Texas National Guard search for bodies on the banks of the Blanco River after flooding in Wimberley on May 26.

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Vehicles in Houston are stranded on Interstate 45 on May 26.

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Clothes and other relief supplies are gathered at Wimberley High School on May 26.

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Nayeli Cervantes carries her friend's daughter through the floodwaters outside their Houston apartment on May 26.

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The cement stilts of a family's home in Wimberley are all that remain on Monday, May 25. The home was swept away by floodwaters a day earlier.

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Lucas Rivas looks into a flooded store in Austin, Texas, on May 25.

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Rescue personnel grab the the hand of a man who was stranded in rushing water in Austin on May 25.

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Janie Bell helps her neighbors in Wimberley search for possessions after their vacation home was destroyed in a flash flood on May 25.

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A shopping center is submerged in water in San Marcos on Sunday, May 24.

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The Fischer Store Road Bridge near Wimberley was destroyed in flooding on May 24.

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Heather Williams and Jayden Martinez Corpus assist the Villegas family in clearing flood-damaged furniture from their home in San Marcos on May 24.

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David Barry consoles his 5-year-old daughter, Marley, while she tries to sleep in a flood evacuee room created at the San Marcos Activity Center on May 24.

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The remains of a home that was taken off its foundation are seen along the Blanco River in Wimberley on May 24.

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A large tree rests on the Highway 12 bridge over the Blanco River in Wimberley on May 24.

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Retha Norris, Ally Smith and Christina Norris, all seated in the canoe, are rescued by firefighters on May 24 after they clung to a tree in Kyle, Texas.